What happens if you initiate the shutdown sequence from the command line, rather than with indicator-session?
$ dbus-send --print-reply --dest="org.gnome.Shell" /org/gnome/SessionManager/EndSessionDialog org.gnome.SessionManager.EndSessionDialog.Open uint32:2 uint32:0 uint32:60 array:objpath: ** Changed in: indicator-session (Ubuntu) Status: Confirmed => Incomplete -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of DX Packages, which is subscribed to indicator-session in Ubuntu. Matching subscriptions: dx-packages https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1376982 Title: Reboot and shutdown options doesn't work Status in “indicator-session” package in Ubuntu: Incomplete Bug description: Choosing Reboot or Shutdown from the session menu shows you the confirmation dialog box, but doesn't reboot or shutdown the machine after confirming. The same is true in the login screen for Shutdown. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.10 Package: indicator-session 12.10.5+14.10.20140919-0ubuntu1 Uname: Linux 3.17.0-031700rc7-generic x86_64 ApportVersion: 2.14.7-0ubuntu2 Architecture: amd64 CurrentDesktop: Unity Date: Fri Oct 3 09:50:08 2014 InstallationDate: Installed on 2012-06-26 (828 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Release amd64 (20120425) SourcePackage: indicator-session UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to utopic on 2014-09-22 (10 days ago) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/indicator-session/+bug/1376982/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~dx-packages Post to : dx-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~dx-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp